Employment Law Cases

The following are brief sketches of some of the more interesting lawsuits I have handled. I cannot reveal the names of my clients, but I can generically describe their cases. These are cases where negotiation has failed and the client has instructed me to commence a lawsuit. There are many more cases, too numerous to list here, where negotiation has proved successful without any lawsuit being necessary.

1. KB was a production manager. He had been employed for 14 months. Suddenly, only days from Christmas, his employment was terminated without any warning. The employer said it needed to reorganize. KB was given 2 weeks pay in lieu of notice. KB came to me and attempts were made to obtain a reasonable settlement, to no avail. KB commenced a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal, and obtained a judgment from the Court giving him 6 months of his pay as reasonable notice.

2. MP was a salesperson, who worked for her employer for 8 years. She had always worked 30 hours per week and worked the lucrative days Wednesday to Saturday each week. Her employer suddenly changed her working arrangements such that her hours were reduced to only 20 hours per week, and was forced to work the far less lucrative days Sunday to Wednesday. These changes constituted a serious reduction in pay and opportunities for MP. She did not agree, and said so. The employer pressed for her agreement, and MP instead took 2 weeks vacation, with the employer's consent, to think about things. During the vacation, MP decided she could not agree to the changes, and said so. The employer took the position that MP resigned or quit. MP commenced a lawsuit for constructive dismissal. The Court awarded her 12 months pay as the reasonable notice.

3. AH was a technical salesperson who worked for his employer for only 7 months. Suddenly, his employment was terminated, with the employer giving him 1 week notice. AH commenced a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. The Court awarded AH 7 months of his pay as reasonable notice.

4. AM was a senior technical salesperson for a national software firm. She had worked for the employer for 2.5 years. She had given up secure employment with another firm in Calgary to take the job with the current employer. Her employment was terminated at a point in time where she was on bereavement leave for the death of her father. She was advised of her termination via e-mail message. All attempts at negotiation failed. AM instructed me to commence a lawsuit. Just prior to trial, after extensive negotiations, the employer settled the claim by paying AM the equivalent of 6 months of her pay plus other inducements.

5. IY was a company president and CEO who had worked for his employer for 10 years. His employment was terminated by the employer, citing just cause. IY was given no notice or severance pay at all. There was no point in attempting to negotiate with the employer, as it was emphatic that there was just cause for dismissal. IY instructed me to commence a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. Once it became clear to the employer through the legal process that it could not possibly win a just cause case, the employer agreed to settle, paying IY the equivalent of 15 months of his pay.

6. KL was a vice-president and chief financial officer of a major national firm, who had worked at her employer's for 21 years, working her way up the ranks. She was such a high performer that her employer continued to load more and more responsibilities onto her shoulders. At some point, the employer, a capricious lot, began to emotionally attack her, culminating in an embarrassing verbal attack in the presence of her peers and subordinates. KL found herself unable to continue. She left the company and went on to an extended medical leave being treated for acute depression. Some two years after she left her employment, she came to me. I attempted to negotiate with her employer, to no avail. KL instructed me to commence a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal, and alternatively, for constructive dismissal. The employer defended the lawsuit on the basis that KL quit. About halfway through the lawsuit, the employer realized it could not win, and settled the case, paying KL 20 months of her pay as the reasonable notice.

7. JH was an executive director of a non-profit society, with 8 years of service. Suddenly, the employer dismissed JH without any notice or pay in lieu of notice, claiming just cause for the dismissal. The employer had had a recent change in its board of directors, and the dismissal was politically motivated. The employer absolutely refused to negotiate. A lawsuit was commenced but settled once the employer conceded it could not win, and JH received 12 months of pay and a written apology.

8. RF was a national account manager with a local monopoly, and he had been employed there for 20 years. He had achieved a high level of specialization in his work. Suddenly, without warning, the employer terminated the employment of RF, hiring his replacement that very day and making RF attend the announcement of his own termination as well as the announcement and celebration of the hiring of his successor. He was given 4 months pay in lieu of notice of the termination. All attempts at negotiation failed to produce any result. RF instructed me to commence a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. Once the employer realized it was involved in a lawsuit it could not possibly win, it settled, paying RF an additional 10 months pay as reasonable notice.

9. SL was a general manager who had worked for his employer for almost 3 years. The business was doing poorly financially, and the employer terminated the employment, offering SL 1 month of pay as notice. After negotiations failed, SL instructed me to commence a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. The Court awarded SL 6 months of his pay as the reasonable notice.

10. GC was a store manager, with 4.5 years of service. He had been induced to leave a former employer of 6 years to take the job with the store. Suddenly, because he would not sign a new contract favourable to the employer, his employment was terminated, and the employer gave him 4 weeks pay in lieu of reasonable notice. A lawsuit was commenced when the employer refused to negotiate, and the matter eventually settled when the employer paid 10 months of pay.

11. SJ was a local store manager for an international chain of stores, with 6 years of service. The employer suddenly terminated SJ without notice or any severance pay, taking the position that it had just cause for the dismissal. The employer absolutely refused to negotiate. A lawsuit was commenced, and the employer paid to SJ a sum equivalent to 10 months of pay.

12. VR was age 54 and was an office manager with 20 years service. The employer sold its business and terminated VR's employment without notice or severance, claiming that it had warned VR well in advance that it might sell the business and bring an end to her employment. The employer claimed that the alleged warning was sufficient notice. The employer refused to negotiate a reasonable settlement, and a lawsuit was commenced. The employer, seeing it would be exposed to a significant judgment, settled the case by paying to VR a sum equivalent to 24 months of her pay.

13. RZ was a Regional Manager for a national employer, and had been employed there for 10 years. The employer had relocated RZ and his family from Toronto to Vancouver and paid his moving expenses. The employer had made a verbal promise at the point of the move to pay for his moving expenses back to Toronto if the job did not work out. After RZ had moved to Vancouver, the employer suddenly terminated employment, for no reason. Negotiation failed, and RZ instructed me to commence a lawsuit. The lawsuit was settled when the employer agreed to pay RZ a sum equal to 10 months of his pay, plus his moving expenses back to Toronto.

14. EL was age 58 and was a supervisor with 25 years of service with the employer. Her employment was terminated with the employer failing to offer her reasonable notice and taking the position that she had resigned. The employer refused to negotiate and a lawsuit was commenced, which was mediated to result in the employer paying to EL a sum equal to 23 months of her pay.

15. NH was the president, chief executive officer and founding partner of his employer. He had worked for the employer for 15 years. Due to financial difficulties, the employer terminated NH's employment without notice. After all attempts to negotiate failed, NH instructed me to commence a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. Before the case went very far, the employer saw that it could not win, and settled the case, paying NH 15 months of pay, plus thousands of stock options, as the reasonable notice.



Wrongful dismissal cases are decided by the courts on a case by case basis, each one based on its own unique set of facts and factors. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results, and the amount recovered or success will vary according to the facts in each individual case.